


An Alternate Take on Reality.

by Soratonin



Series: Taking On The World. [1]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: ... And for bonding when not everyone is in the same place..., ... It's mostly there for the fluff., Also I lied., Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And I mean slow burn like, Angst and Fluff., As a side plot, Asexual Spectrum Kaneki Ken, Asexual Spectrum Uta, Canon typical violence., Chatting & Messaging, F/F, F/M, FUCK IT BECAUSE NOW IT IS, Fuck Canon, Half of the OCs mentioned/that appear are a friend's., Headcanons., Hurt and comfort., M/M, Mentioned past Binge-Eating., Mentioned past cannibalism., More likely than you think oops, Non-Binary Uta, Not Canon Compliant., Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Projecting onto fictional characters?, References to things not mentioned in canon., Selectively Mute Kaneki Ken, Slight Binge-Eating., Slow Burn, So... Lots of murder and blood and stuff., Strong Language., THAT IS NOT A TAG?!?!?, The canon character poly ship hasn't been referenced at all yet slow burn, This is actually vaguely canon compliant., Uta has ADHD, Vaguely canon compliant for like, at all., canon can die, come suffer with me, two things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22797913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soratonin/pseuds/Soratonin
Summary: The silence between the two as they walked to wherever it was they were going wasn’t awkward, thankfully. But nor was it comfortable. Not quite tense, but not quite relaxed, it was strange. For a majority of the time Kaneki thought about the fact that he was letting a stranger essentially guide him to some unknown place and he should be more cautious. More aware of the fact that he shouldn’t be going with this guy. At all. And certainly shouldn’t entertain the man by doing so. But…Kaneki glanced to the other’s still masked face and felt nothing but a sense of security.First chapter is a little list of headcanons and brief summaries of past non-canon events that I'll be using. Unsure if any of the headcanons have popped up before as I'm relatively new to the fandom, so I'm also not 100% sure some of what I mention is canon(I couldn't find it if it is), and if it is feel free to point that out too! Back to headcanons though; so if someone's had the idea down online somewhere before me, lemme know so I can give proper credit!! (preferably with a link to the source.)
Relationships: Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise/Nagachika Hideyoshi, Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise/Nagachika Hideyoshi/Uta, Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise/Uta, Nagachika Hideyoshi/Uta, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Taking On The World. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774120
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Headcanons and past non-canon events that get referenced later.

Headcanons:

  * Ghouls blend up flesh with water and go around out and about acting like it's some sort of red-fruit smoothie if asked. Also easier to feed the little ones this way before they can eat solids.  
  

  * Kagunes can be used completely harmlessly if needed, though it is noted as being hard to do and is not something usually seen.  
  

  * Ghoul foster care exists for orphaned Ghoul children, often hiding behind being the same system for humans.  
  

  * Former Binge-Eaters experience heavy nightmares and often turn to addictions such as smoking to help cope.  
  

  * Half-Ghouls are slightly more common, but still rare enough that they're not everywhere.  
  

  * Half-Humans are far more common than Half-Ghouls but again, still rare enough that they're not everywhere.  
  

  * Ghouls can become intoxicated or experience drug-like symptoms if either were in the blood of who they were eating. And while they can do the same thing without that, it's often harder to do short of injecting it directly into their blood stream or snorting it.  
  

  * Despite being unable to eat various human things, Ghouls can consume antibiotics if the need arises. (I.E: sick with the flu.)  
  
  
  
  
  




Non-Canon past events in order of which they happen(credit to a friend of mine who set this all up for me):  
  


*October 9th, 1997* ~ Fujimori Sakiko leaves the 20th Ward having married her husband, Akiyama Kazuo, a few days prior. Before leaving, she makes her stepbrother, Suzuki Akio, and her best friend and manager of Anteiku, Amano Jun, promise to protect her children should there ever come a day where she and Kazuo are killed, and they can’t protect themselves.

*March 6th, 1998* ~ Akiyama Yuri is born the eldest child and only daughter of Akiyama Kazuo and Fujimori Sakiko.

*July 19th, 2001* ~ Akiyama Tōru is born the second child and eldest son of Akiyama Kazuo and Fujimori Sakiko.

*April 7th, 2003* ~ Akiyama Jun is born the youngest child and the second son of Akiyama Kazuo and Fujimori Sakiko.

*October 31st, 2004* ~ Amisi Kachina is born to unknown parents and is anonymously given up to a foster home soon after.

*September 13th, 2011* ~ Special Investigators from the Commission of Counter Ghoul (CCG) take a S-rated Ghoul named Katou Atsushi into custody on the belief that he may have ties to the Binge-Eater Clan of the 11th Ward.

*September 29th, 2011* ~ Akiyama Aina, the girlfriend of three years to Katou, travels to the CCG 20th Ward’s Branch Office, demanding the release of her boyfriend, stating that she is a dangerous member of the head family of the 11th Ward’s Clan. The CCG tell her that they will spare Katou and her so long as she reveals to them her family name and the locations and members of her family. Akiyama Aina ultimately gives up this information and is killed alongside Katou Atsushi the moment she told them everything they needed. The 20th Ward Branch Office immediately starts communicating with the 11th Ward Branch Office about working together on what was later dubbed the Akiyama Clan Extermination Operation (ACEO)

*December 15th, 2011* ~ The CCG put the ACEO into action and manage to infiltrate each of the separate private Akiyama households and slaughtered every member of the family. Children included. The final household attacked was that of Akiyama Kazuo’s and Sakiko’s. Akiyama Kazuo and Sakiko are then killed by the CCG while burying time for Akiyama Yuri, Tōru and Jun to escape. Sakiko gives Akiyama Tōru his father’s mask, and Akiyama Jun her own mask before sending them off.

*December 21st, 2011* ~ Akiyama Yuri, Tōru and Jun make it to the 20th Ward.

*December 22nd, 2011* ~ Akiyama Yuri, Tōru and Jun seek refuge with their mother’s friend, Amano Jun.

*February 7th, 2012* ~ Akiyama Yuri, Tōru and Jun are removed from Amano Jun’s care by their step-uncle, Suzuki Akio. Suzuki accuses Amano of being the reason Sakiko died as he didn’t try and stop her from leaving the 20th Ward. Amano doesn’t fight back against this claim and accepts the blame. However, he also quietly mentions to Akio that he didn’t stop her in the end either, thus the blame is on them both. Suzuki ignores this and takes Yuri, Tōru and Jun into his care, raising them himself and teaching them how to hunt.

*August 8th, 2014* ~ Akiyama Tōru falls into binge-eating like his father and uncle, Fujimori Kenji, before him. However, despite the promise Sakiko made Akio make, Akio doesn’t stop Tōru from losing his humanity and becoming heartless like Fujimori did. Tōru soon grows to idolise the memory of his uncle, who was detained in the Ghoul Detention Centre, Cochlea. The cruelty of Tōru’s killings start to drive a wedge between Tōru and Jun, despite them having a close relationship in the past. Although he believes that they shouldn’t kill humans, Jun remains close with Yuri, even though she, herself, kills. However, as she only killed for survival and not aimlessly or excessively like Tōru, this didn’t drive Jun to distance himself from her.

*November 3rd, 2017* ~ Akiyama Jun starts helping Anteiku with ‘food shopping’ and with food distribution to ghouls who couldn’t come to Anteiku themselves for whatever reason. Akiyama Tōru spirals even further into binge-eating and cold-blooded killing, and his heartless personality gets even worse. The brotherly bond between Tōru and Jun is now almost non-existent, and they frequently argue. Jun urges him for the sake of all their safety to be careful and not get caught. Tōru pretends to ignore this advice but does start being more cautious when out hunting.

*June 10th, 2020* ~ Misaki Kani is born the eldest child and the first and eldest son of Misaki Orion and Aoi.

*January 9th, 2021* ~ Akiyama Jun meets Kishimoto Haruka, a Bikaku Ghoul. They start up a relationship soon after.

*August 6th, 2022* ~ Misaki Lykaon is born the second child and second son of Misaki Orion and Aoi. He is the younger brother of Misaki Kani.

*December 25th, 2022* ~ Akiyama Kuro is born the only child of Kishimoto Haruka, and the eldest child and first son of Akiyama Jun. Kishimoto dies soon after his birth in a car accident.

*August 6th, 2023* ~ Misaki Takehiko is born the third child, and third and youngest son of Misaki Orion and Aoi. He is the younger brother of Misaki Kani and Misaki Lykaon. This is also the day they discovered that Misaki Lykaon can't pain and that his sense of touch is severely lowered to the point that anything short of a slap feels feather light.

*January 20th, 2025* ~ Misaki Akiko is born the youngest child and only daughter of Misaki Orion and Aoi. She is the younger sister of Misaki Kani, Misaki Lykaon and Misaki Takehiko. 

*May 24th, 2025* ~ Akiyama Jun meets Kaminari Fia, a human woman who also worked as a Ghoul Investigator for the Commission of Counter Ghoul, unknown to Jun (who just believes that she is a ghoul-sympathiser working against the CCG rather than one working for the CCG), when she saves him from being killed by the CCG and helps him return home to his son, Kuro.

*June 26th, 2028* ~ Akiyama Taiki and Akiyama Naomi are born the only children of Kaminari Fia, and the second son and only daughter of Akiyama Jun. They are the younger half-siblings of Akiyama Kuro. Both children are found to be half-ghoul, but, however, both lack kagunes.

*June 26th, 2028* ~ Hayashi Sakura is born the only child of Hayashi Ichirō and Yamamoto Kasumi.

*November 9th, 2028* ~ Kaminari Fia dies in what is believed to be a freak accident on a mission but was actually an assassination by the CCG. Akiyama Jun is unaware of her death and strives to discover what happened to her while doing his best to care for their children. 

*February 16th, 2029* ~ Akiyama Jun meets Fujiwara Akemi, a twenty-two-year-old fellow Ukaku ghoul, originally from the 15th Ward but currently living in the 20th Ward to support her grandmother. Fujiwara offers to help Jun find out what happened to Kaminari Fia.

*March 5th, 2030* ~ Akiyama Jun and Fujiwara Akemi start up a relationship, following Akiyama Jun’s decision to give up trying to find the truth due to reaching countless dead ends and having no options remaining.

*February 22nd, 2032* ~ Akiyama Jun and Fujiwara Akemi get engaged.

*May 2nd, 2033* ~ Akiyama Kazuo is born the only son and child of Fujiwara Akemi, and the third son and youngest child of Akiyama Jun. He is the younger half-brother of Akiyama Kuro, Akiyama Taiki, and Akiyama Naomi. Like his eldest brother, Akiyama Kazuo is a full-ghoul and has a kagune. However, as both his parents were Ukaku-type ghouls, Kazuo doesn’t possess a chimera kagune like Kuro.

*November 27th, 2036* ~ Akiyama Jun and Fujiwara Akemi get married via a traditional ghoul wedding. 

*July 8th, 2040* ~ Akiyama Akemi gets killed protecting Akiyama Kazuo from Ghoul Investigators. Akiyama Kazuo witnesses her death before managing to run back home. By the time Kazuo takes Akiyama Jun to where the event happened, the Ghoul Investigators are gone, along with Akemi’s body. At this time, Akiyama Akemi was five months pregnant with a baby girl that was going to be named Akiyama Haruka-Fia after both of Jun’s previous relationships that ended tragically. Akemi’s kakuhou is harvested from her body and used to make a quinque. Akiyama Jun and Kazuo are left devastated by her death.

*July 8th, 2040* ~ Akiyama Akemi gets killed protecting Akiyama Kazuo from Ghoul Investigators. Akiyama Kazuo witnesses her death before managing to run back home. By the time Kazuo takes Akiyama Jun to where the event happened, the Ghoul Investigators are gone, along with Akemi’s body. At this time, Akiyama Akemi was five months pregnant with a baby girl that was going to be named Akiyama Haruka-Fia after both of Jun’s previous relationships that ended tragically. Akemi’s kakuhou is harvested from her body and used to make a quinque. Akiyama Jun and Kazuo are left devastated by her death.

*August 3rd, 2040* ~ Misaki Lykaon, in an effort to protect his family with power, starts to binge-eat humans and ghouls alike. He takes on the name Hajime Sethos and the CCG eventually dub him as Ketsueki.

*August 7th, 2040* ~ Misaki Takehiko gets married to a woman called Kiyoko. This is the last time Lykaon’s family sees him for the next ten years.

*December 5th, 2040* ~

Akiyama Jun’s older sister Akiyama Yuri moves into Jun’s house in order to help him with the seven-year-old Kazuo. Due to forcing Akiyama Tōru to come with her, Akiyama Kazuo starts getting attached to Tōru, and vice-versa, with Kazuo being one of the only people that Tōru truly cared about. Despite Jun’s dislike of Tōru, Akiyama Jun doesn’t stop Kazuo as he wants Kazuo to be happy.

*August 22nd, 2041* ~ Hajime Sethos goes underground and rallies together other ghouls in order to get them all to binge-eat and partake in cannibalizing their own kind, all so that they can eventually storm and take down the CCG.

*July 10th, 2042* ~ Fourteen-year-old Hayashi Sakura witnesses an attack by a nineteen-year-old binge-eater ghoul known as Hajime “Ketsueki” Sethos on her aunt and cousins during a sleepover with her cousins. She is the only survivor. Soon after, Sakura joins the CCG’s Academy Junior School, training towards a career as a Ghoul Investigator.

*September 13th, 2043* ~ Akiyama Jun saves Amisi Kachina from being run over by a car and takes her in, helping her due to Kachina having nowhere else to go.

*January 9th, 2044* ~ After getting separated from Akiyama Jun and Amisi Kachina on the way home and getting lost, Akiyama Kazuo is found by a pair of Ghoul Investigators and is almost killed, but saved by Akiyama Jun. One of the Investigators is killed but one is spared. The one killed is revealed to have been wielding the quinque made from Akiyama (née Fujiwara) Akemi’s kakuhou. The quinque was made in the form of a spear, and, after the death of the Investigator, the spearhead of the spear was retrieved and placed inside a protective case inside a plushie which was then given to Akiyama Kazuo as a memento.

*August 21st, 2044* ~ Akiyama Jun, Akiyama Tōru and Amisi Kachina find twelve-year-old Hoshimiya Arima after a ghoul attack. Due to having no family, they take her in. Hoshimiya Arima quickly gets attached to Akiyama Tōru and becomes good friends with the eleven-year-old Akiyama Kazuo. This later develops into romantic feelings for Akiyama Kazuo.

*October 31st, 2044* ~ Misaki Akiko marries a woman called Ume.

*December 27th, 2045* ~ Akiyama Tōru attempts to kill Amisi Kachina, leading to him being handed into the Commission for Counter Ghoul by Akiyama Jun. He is taken to the Ghoul Detention Center, Cochlea, where his uncle, Fujimori Kenji, still resides. However, despite idolising him as a child, Tōru has no intention of talking to him. Kazuo is angered by Tōru’s capture, although he does not blame Jun and, instead, blames the CCG and vows to grow stronger to take his revenge. He starts binge-eating, unknown to Jun.

*July 18th, 2047* ~ A fourteen-year-old Akiyama Kazuo discovers the existence of a binge-eating cult waging war on the CCG under the leadership of a ghoul with the name of Hajime ‘Ketsueki’ Sethos. He joins the cult to increase his power like he vowed to do two years prior.

*August 28th, 2047* ~ Akiyama Naomi plans a blind date between her brother Akiyama Taiki and Hayashi Sakura, who was currently studying at the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy. Due to the date going well, they soon start a relationship. As Hayashi Sakura’s occupation is known to Taiki, he keeps his status as a half-ghoul a secret from her.

*January 26th, 2048* ~ Akiyama Kuro starts dating a B-rated, koukaku ghoul Nakajima Zen.

*March 24th, 2048* ~ Kanihiki Ignis is born to unknown parents and given to a slowly going-out-of-business orphanage soon after. He is born blind but has the ability to ‘see’ using a heightened sense of awareness.

*April 20th, 2048* ~ Amisi Kachina and Akiyama Jun get married. Akiyama Kazuo is absent for the wedding.

*June 13th, 2048* ~ Hayashi Sakura graduates from the Ghoul Investigator Training Academy as a Rank 2 Investigator. She is soon after sent abroad with a few other Junior Investigators to accompany a group of Senior Investigators who were going to check on a newly constructed Ghoul Detention Centre residing in another country.

*March 2nd, 2049* ~ Hoshimiya Arima is ‘killed’ by CCG Investigators. While she didn’t actually die, the Akiyama family, especially Kazuo, believe her to be. As a result, Kazuo starts acting out in the cult and fights with other cult members. In order to teach him a lesson, he is brought down a rank in the cult and is forced to suffer through having the area of skin with his current rank branding on cut off.

*July 15th, 2049* ~ Hajime Sethos, upon completing his Kakuja, is surrounded by about a dozen CCG members. Over the course between midnight and 2am, he kills them all and leaves six children orphaned, the news of that in the morning coupled with the fact that the six children now have nowhere to go and no other family to care for them makes him give up binge-eating. In an effort to atone for orphaning the six, he anonymously helps keep the six-sibling set together as they jump around foster homes before they’re finally adopted. The guilt from this event still leaves him with nightmares, years later.

*July 16th, 2049* ~ Hajime Sethos’s cult is disbanded, with Sethos killing most of the members and giving almost all of the rest into the CCG. Kazuo escapes this fate and disappears, leaving the 20th Ward for the 11th Ward secretly. He remains in the 11th Ward for the next seven years. Hajime Sethos reverts back to using his actual name, Misaki Lykaon.

*June 26th, 2051* ~ Hayashi Sakura returns from her three-year work trip, with her rank now being Investigator First Class due to her help with various dangerous ghouls during the trip. Upon returning home to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Akiyama Taiki, she and Taiki are intimate for the first time.

*July 16th, 2051* ~ Misaki Kazue is born the only child of Misaki Takehiko and Takako.

*August 5th, 2051* ~ Hayashi Sakura discovers she is pregnant.

*September 19th, 2051* ~ Akiyama Kuro meets Misaki Lykaon at a coffee shop.

*October 3rd, 2051* ~ Hayashi Sakura discovers that Akiyama Taiki is a ghoul. She quits her job at the CCG but keeps her quinque in case she ever needs to protect herself.

*November 13th, 2051* ~ Misaki Daiki is born the eldest child and only son of Misaki Kani and Kiyoko.

*February 9th, 2052* ~ Akiyama Sakiko is born the eldest child and, so far, only daughter of Akiyama Taiki and Hayashi Sakura. She is born a natural half-ghoul, and named after her ghoul grandmother, Fujimori Sakiko, who was killed in the ACEO. This was intentionally done by Hayashi Sakura as she felt guilt over the event (even though she wasn’t born when it happened) due to having been a Ghoul Investigator, and she also wanted to honour the memory of the innocent victims of the ACEO. Sakiko is later shown to be able to manifest a kagune despite her father’s inability.

*February 28th, 2052* ~ Akiyama Akemi Fia-Haruka is born as the second and youngest daughter of Akiyama Jun and the only known biological child of Akiyama Kachina.

*September 11th, 2052* ~ Misaki Harumi is born the second child and only daughter of Misaki Kani and Kiyoko.

*December 25th, 2052* ~ Akiyama Kuro and Misaki Lykaon almost have a one-night-stand while drunk due to suppressed romantic feelings between them. However, they are stopped by the arrival of Akiyama Kuro’s boyfriend, Nakajima Zen. Following this event, the relationship between Kuro and Zen sours and becomes abusive.

*May 3rd, 2053* ~ Misaki Lykaon helps Akiyama Kuro leave his abusive relationship, and, due to the still existing romantic feelings, they start dating following Kuro’s recovery.

*June 12th, 2053* ~ Hayashi Sakura discovers that she’s pregnant for the second time and starts with the necessary practice of eating flesh in order to maximise the child’s chance of survival.

*January 20th, 2054* ~ Akiyama Altair is born the eldest and, so far, only son and the second child of Akiyama Taiki and Hayashi Sakura. He is a natural half-ghoul and the younger brother of Akiyama Sakiko. Like his older sister, he is later shown to have a kagune.

*September 1st, 2054* ~ Hoshimiya Arima adopts a human child named Ignis.

*October 19th, 2054* ~ Akiyama Kuro and Misaki Lykaon start fostering Ghoul children, eventually adopting two called Acalaia and Isaac.

*December 25th, 2054* ~ Misaki Lykaon proposes to Akiyama Kuro, however they decide to wait to actually get married due to wanting to get settled in with their new duties as foster parents first.

*December 25th, 2056* ~ Misaki Takehiko marries a woman called Takako.

*April-July, 2057* ~ Akiyama Kazuo spends time with Kamishiro Rize during her stay in the 11th Ward, resulting in them having an on-off relationship with each other (which was actually just Kazuo’s attempt at a distraction from nightmares and dreams about Arima and Arima’s supposed death) until Rize leaves the 11th Ward for the 20th Ward.

*June, 2057* ~ Misaki Akiko becomes pregnant with her and Ume’s first and only child.

*June 23rd, 2057* ~ Akiyama Kuro and Misaki Lykaon get married.

*October 12th, 2057* ~ Akiyama Kazuo reunites with Hoshimiya Arima after almost attempting to kill her following Arima walking into him while he was walking around the city. Realising that she was still alive and that, in his heartless, emotionless state, he almost killed her for real, Kazuo decides that he needs to change and, with Arima’s help, starts trying to stop his binge-eating and make amends with his family. Following this decision and allowing himself to feel again, the sudden guilt over the deaths of all he killed starts causing horrific nightmares and frequent panic attacks following the nightmares. Around this same time, after sustaining a gunshot wound, Ignis is turned into an artificial half-ghoul.

*November 1st, 2057* ~ Hayashi Sakura discovers she is pregnant for the third time. However, this time, she decides to keep it a secret from Taiki to surprise him as a Christmas present.

*Christmas Holidays, 2057* ~ Misaki Lykaon and Akiyama Kuro’s family host a meet-up at a hotel to celebrate the holidays together. Part-way during this meet-up, Ghoul Investigators from the CCG attack the family and Misaki Lykaon is forced to kill all but one of them in order to protect his family. The one Investigator left was intentionally left alive in order to relay back to the CCG to leave Misaki Lykaon’s family alone or else. Akiyama Kazuo shows up at the meet-up and reunites with his family for the first time in seven years, having been missing for the entirety of the previous seven years.

*December 22nd, 2057* ~ Akiyama Naomi gets engaged to her boyfriend Yoshio Marmoru.

*December 25th, 2057* ~ Hayashi Sakura reveals to Akiyama Taiki that she is a month pregnant with their third child, following Akiyama Taiki’s proposal to her. By the end of the day, Hayashi Sakura and Akiyama Taiki are engaged and start preparing for the birth of their third child in eight months. (The fic starts just over two months later on February 28th, 2058.)

  
  
  
So I mean. Yeah, this is basically me almost completely destroying canon from anything after the first eighteen or so-ish (give or take a few) minutes of the first episode of the anime and a currently undetermined part of the manga. All to do what? That's right. Give Kaneki Ken an accepting family-esk support group that will love him as if he were family. .... This is going to be complete trash but whatever. I'm going to do it anyway. Because he didn't deserve this torture and I refuse to accept that it happened, regardless of any canon happy ending.


	2. Chapter 1: Beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This starts off in the alleyway scene during episode one of the anime and deviates from there.  
> Certain canon events MIGHT appear, but there are no guarantees that they will or that they'll even have the same end result. Please keep this in mind whilst reading, thank you! :D

This was how he was going to die.  
In an alleyway, being choked to death by a ghoul.  
He still couldn’t believe the events of the last… He didn’t even remember how long had passed since his date with Rize had… Well… Descended into chaos and terror incarnate… And the time spent at the hospital was all a blur of color and things he no longer remembered…  
He didn’t register what was being said to him, but he must’ve because he could feel his mouth moving and the vibrations of him speaking…  
And then there was another voice and he felt himself falling to the ground, gasping for breath. And then…  
  
“Cut it out.”  
  
The voice was cold, menacing, and… Authoritative. The other two voices stopped and the scent of fear suddenly cut through the air. “Leave. I’m claiming this stretch of territory.” the voice said, getting a slight protest from a more feminine voice, but the fear that rolled off of her… Well… It was all too easy to see that when Unknown Voice #3 started growling she ran off, closely followed by Unknown Voice #1 when something else was growled out at him in a low voice.  
  
Not that it was registered by him, he was a shaking half mumbling mess trying to suppress the urge to go tear into the unfinished corpse off to the side. His gaze darted to the movement of someone dropping down into the alley with a white mask, with five slits -shortest at the top and bottom and longest in the middle- over where the eyes should be and points going down to cover their cheeks and curve lightly over the tip of their nose, covering their face. It was easy to see the dips, lines and movement of the muscle of their arms, their legs more hidden by the baggy sweatpants they were wearing. Kaneki watched with fear, tense and ready to spring, away or at the other he wasn’t sure, as they stood and stepped over before crouching in front of him.  
  
Their lips were moving, but Kaneki could only tilt his head as it didn’t seem to be processing. “....y….” his brow furrowed, slowly becoming aware that he was shaking and couldn’t quite breathe. “....ey….” he flinched as the stranger reached out, closing his eyes and cowering away. The pause the other made went unnoticed and he was all too aware of the yelp of fear that left his mouth at the touch on his hand a moment later. “....Hey….” the voice was masculine and so gentle sounding, almost concerned. Different from how the voice sounded before, pleasant even. “Hey, kid,” words were processing now, as was the fact that he could hardly breathe. When had that happened? “You need to breathe, bud. Come on,” he watched as the other placed his hand against his own chest, exaggerating his breathing so as to let it be known he was taking deeper breaths. “Try and match mine, alright?” he asked, Kaneki could barely nod and try to attempt it. He exactly didn’t need the reminder on how to breathe properly, but it was a comfort to have a rhythm to try and match  
  
At first it didn’t seem to work, and then his breathing slowly started to return to normal. In all it took about ten minutes for him to be calm again. … Well. As calm as he could be, anyway. He saw the other smile and then release his hand, which he immediately pulled back. “Good, you can breathe. What’s your name?” he asked, his voice still so gentle sounding. For a moment, Kaneki didn’t want to answer. But if the male was a ghoul, then he wasn’t trying to kill him and had even helped him to a degree… Not that those things made it okay to just give out his name, or anything else for that matter. But he wasn’t asking for anything else and he seemed nice enough… Though that could always just be a cover up and he was plotting to murder him as soon as possible….  
  
He must’ve been silent too long, because the man spoke again. “Don’t have to tell me. I’m Misaki Lykaon, just so you’re aware. Sorry about the other two, one was actually dangerous and the other was likely going to fend him off, but I didn’t trust her to not hurt you so I figured I’d step in before you got a taste of our world too soon.” he told him, standing and moving to the corpse. Something like a vine extended from his back and cut a ribbon of flesh from the corpse and- Kaneki tore his gaze away with a choked back sob.  
  
“Hey, shhh… The scent of starvation is coming off of you, you need to eat or you will literally kill anyone in sight just to get rid of it, with no regard of who it is or where you are at the time.” his voice was still gentle but there… Was understanding? As well as some sort of other emotion he couldn’t place right then. Kaneki felt fresh tears stream down his face, shaking his head as he heard the other step closer and crouch in front of him again. A minute passed, then two, then Kaneki lunged forward slightly and ate the flesh, which was the length of someone’s forearm, that had been in the other’s hand with barely chewed bites.  
  
He was still for several minutes longer after he was done, his suddenly relieved mental state not quite registering the soft touch of a handkerchief wiping the blood from his mouth and chin. He looked up as Misaki-san stood and held a hand out for him, which he took after a moment’s hesitation. After being helped up, he almost fell over again when he tried to walk, had it not been for the man in front of him catching him and helping him. He pushed what he just did to the back of his mind and hoped it stayed there.  
  
The silence between the two as they walked to wherever it was they were going wasn’t awkward, thankfully. But nor was it comfortable. Not quite tense, but not quite relaxed, it was strange. For a majority of the time Kaneki thought about the fact that he was letting a stranger essentially guide him to some unknown place and he should be more cautious. More aware of the fact that _he shouldn’t be going with this guy. At all._ And certainly shouldn’t _entertain the man by doing so._ But…  
  
Kaneki glanced to the other’s still masked face and felt nothing but a sense of security.  
  
  
The entire walk took about thirty minutes, the entire thing silent. Their destination was a two story house that looked very nice, small and carefully cared for shrubs lined the outside beside the stairs to the front covered patio. The rest of what would be the front yard was too small to really do anything with, the driveway was to the left of the tiny yard and had two vehicles parked in it, one a larger van and the other a small four-door car. Kaneki was led up the steps and the man carefully fished keys out of his pocket before unlocking the door and letting the young man step inside first. He politely removed his shoes and waited as the other did the same, freezing at a new voice from the base of the stairs a little ahead and to the left of the entrance. “Oh...? ‘Kaon who’s this…?” the voice was also male and sounded half asleep, but Kaneki didn’t dare look over even as Misaki-san walked to him, though Kaneki noted that his mask now rested on a small shelf beside another one that was similar.  
  
He noted soft whispers and finally looked over. He couldn’t deny that the other man was handsome. With pale blonde hair and eyes that looked to shift between teal and turquoise, his face was faintly heart shaped, though his build was the opposite of Misaki-san’s, appearing to be slender and more built for speed.  
  
His eyes widened when the two shared a soft kiss and he looked away with a blush of embarrassment flushing across his cheeks, feeling as though he shouldn’t have seen such intimacy between the two. He noted footsteps went to the right and then was looking into eyes so dark of a blue that they looked to be an abyss. Misaki-san, he noted, had a much cleaner cut jawline than the unnamed man did, slightly rounder cheekbones and a face structure that was less heart shaped and more like… Softened rectangular and diamond, not as sharp as most with the latter, but not as defined as the former. It made him look welcoming. Especially when he smiled.  
  
“Come on, Kuro’s gone to make some coffee. We can talk in the dining room, alright?” he asked, the smile lighting up his face and making it kinder looking. Kaneki nodded faintly in confirmation, following him to the right and blinking at the dining room-kitchen hybrid. The kitchen was mostly in full view save for the bar counter in the middle separating it and the dining room. The unnamed male… Er… Kuro…?? Was moving around the kitchen, getting a couple of mugs. “I… Uhm… I’m okay with water…” Kaneki said slowly, the other two pausing a moment before nodding. Kuro? Put one of the mugs away and got out a glass, filled it with a few ice cubes from the freezer before he filled it with water and walked over to give it to him.  
  
Kaneki thanked him softly, getting a smile in return, and sat down when Misaki-san gestured for him to. He tuned out the soft chatter of the other two, one asking how the other’s night was and leading into explanations. “So what is your name?” Kuro? Asked him, which was right when he tuned back in when he heard mention of ‘the kid’. “Ah… It’s Kaneki… Kaneki Ken…” he answered, taking a few sips of his drink. “It’s nice to meet you, as my husband already introduced himself, I’ll do so as well. I’m Misaki Kuro, it’s nice to meet you.” he said in response, smiling warmly and Kaneki was suddenly sure on one of the reasons Misaki-san had married the man.  
  
“You as well…” he said softly, looking down at his glass, which he promptly splashed a bit in sudden fear at the scream coming from upstairs. He missed the split second glance between the other two before one of them, he didn’t notice who, rushed out and up the stairs. Moments later the house quieted again and a few seconds passed before Kaneki noticed the towel mopping up the water he’d spilled. “Sorry, one of the kids gets vivid nightmares.” Misaki-san explained softly, going to the sink and wringing out the towel before draping it over the facet to dry out entirely. “Are you okay to eat?” he asked, looking over at him as he moved to pour two mugs of coffee once it was done. Kaneki tensed and quickly shook his head, getting an understanding and knowing look. “Alright. It’s alright. It is late though and I’m not sure if I trust you enough in your current state to make it home alone, are you alright staying here for the night?” he asked, walking back over after taking one of the mugs, sitting down in the seat next to his.  
  
For a few moments there was silence, and then Kaneki slowly nodded. “That’s fine… I don’t think I’d make it home, anyway…” he said softly, taking a drink of some of the water that was left in the cup. Misaki-san let out a soft hum and nodded. “Tired, then?” he asked and now that he mentioned it, yeah. Kaneki was tired. “I… Yeah… A bit…” he answered, looking up to see a smile on the man’s face. “I’ll show you to the guest bedroom once you’re done with that, alright?” he asked, getting a nod in response.  
  
They fell back into relative silence, Misaki-san’s husband coming back down long enough to take the mug for him and give the other another kiss and a hug. Kaneki heard the promises of coming to bed for cuddles pass between the two and almost felt as if he were intruding. Almost. The other left soon after that and Kaneki took his soon empty glass of water to the sink, placing it inside after Misaki-san told him he’d get to it in the morning. After he stood, he did as he said and led Kaneki up the stairs and to a door in the hall, opening it to an empty guest bedroom. “Thank you, Misaki-san…” Kaneki said softly as he entered. “It’s no issue, Kaneki-kun.” he responded with a soft smile and a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Have a nice rest, yeah?” he asked softly, getting a faint nod before he left, closing the door behind him.  
  
Kaneki was barely laying down before he was in the blissful darkness of sleep.  
  
  
When Kaneki awoke the next morning, he was almost convinced that everything from the previous night was a dream. Up until he opened his eyes and saw that he wasn’t in his own home. Meaning that last night wasn’t a dream and he was actually now, somehow, a ghoul. He grit his teeth and hugged the pillow he’d been sleeping with, burying his face into it in order to try and prevent the tears from coming. If it wasn’t a dream, then that also meant he was currently in Misaki-san’s house. If that was even his name. Everything was blurring together and he found it hard to think.  
  
“Kaneki-kun?” he jolted at the sound of the man’s voice from behind the guest-bedroom door, sitting up as he then heard a light knock. “Are you awake?” he asked, but he politely didn’t open the door. Kaneki was silently thankful for that, rubbing at his eyes with his sweater sleeve and standing up in order to stretch. He yawned before he finally walked over and turned the silver-colored doorknob in order to open the object it was attached to. “I’m awake…” he murmured, looking up and blinking in slight surprise when he saw the slightly taller man smiling. He also… Did not have the abyss-blue colored eyes any longer, being replaced by mismatched orange and lavender. “Good. I was hoping you would be. Come on, breakfast.” he said, turning to start heading down the hall to the staircase that led downstairs.  
  
Kaneki tightened his grip on the doorknob to prevent his hand from shaking, balling his other into a fist. “I politely decline the offer of… Food.” he hesitated on the last word, but he felt that saying anything else would make him feel worse. “Don’t have to eat, but there’s coffee. And if I remember anything about being humane, it’s that coffee is a definite must in the morning.” he responded, turning back to look at him. “Though I would recommend you do eat before returning home, you’ll go longer without the need to eat that way.” Kaneki saw his shoulders go up in a shrug before he turned and went down the steps. “But I can’t force it on you. That’d make things worse. Come down when you’re ready, alright?” he told him in question before going out of sight as he reached the middle of the staircase.  
  
He paused, then stepped back into the room and closed the door. He’d go down later, maybe. Or perhaps he’d sneak out the window after leaving a note. For now, however, he just wanted to sleep. Sleep and forget any of this had happened. So that’s what he did, Kaneki laid back down and curled up under the blankets, face buried into the fabric of a pillow as he slowly fell back to sleep.  
  
  
When he next awoke, it was closer to mid-afternoon. He’d wanted to turn over and go back to sleep. But this wasn’t his house and he’d likely already overstayed his welcome. So he let out a sigh and got up, feeling the beginnings of hunger start to gnaw at his stomach, in order to head out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
“Ah! Finally awake! Good to see. I was starting to worry you had died up there for a second.” Kaneki tensed and turned to the left, the entrance to the kitchen obviously wide open with Misaki-san sitting on one of the counter-tops with a steaming mug in his hands. He hesitated before walking into the same room and taking up the other’s offer on sitting on one of the other counters, even if it was… Improper. The head of this house was doing it, and _invited_ Kaneki to do the same… Which was the only reason he did it. “You like coffee?” he asked, grabbing the half full pot from beside him and a mug out of the cupboard behind him. “But… I thought that Ghouls couldn’t consume human foods?” Kaneki asked, nearly cringing at how tired his voice sounded. But if Misaki-san noticed, he said nothing about it. “We can’t. Coffee is the only exception to that rule, and we can’t have it with any sort of creamer or the like. Though I’ve heard some sweeten theirs… I prefer not to.” he poured coffee into the empty mug and then handed it to Kaneki, who took it with a soft word of thanks.  
  
“Sweeten how?” he asked after taking a couple sips and mentally sinking into a very slight security that he could still enjoy this, at the very least. “Usually with blood, but that’s… Difficult to do. It gets everywhere and I, personally, find that it adds a certain thicker texture that I don’t like.” he replied simply, taking a sip of his own mug of coffee and then setting it down. Now that Kaneki was more awake, he noticed the slight dark circles under the other’s eyes and the faint look of someone who’d seen more than they had ever wanted to in his eyes. “Hopefully you’ve slept well.” he said, snapping him from his observations.  
  
He nodded slightly, swallowing his mouthful of coffee before speaking. “I did, a bit. Thank you for letting me stay.” Misaki-san lightly waved a hand, slipping from the countertop and heading to the fridge. “It’s no trouble to me nor to my family. Are you hungry yet?” he asked, looking over with his hand on the fridge’s handle. Kaneki tensed and quickly looked down, away from the other’s gaze. “I’m fine…” he mumbled, grip tightening just slightly on the mug in his hands. He heard, but didn’t see, Misaki-san sigh softly. “You remember what I told you last night? About starving yourself?” he asked him, his voice soft but understanding.  
  
“I’ll hold off as long as I can.” Kaneki replied simply, once again tightening his grip. But this time it was to keep his hands from shaking. “That’ll make things worse, Kaneki-kun.” Misaki-san replied, a bit of worry creeping into his tone. “I don’t want to eat people, what’s so wrong about that!?” Kaneki snapped at him, looking up at him, not quite noticing a few tears slide down his cheeks. “Nothing at all. Do you think I want to?” Misaki-san, voice still soft and understanding, asked in response. “They’re all someone’s child, possibly someone’s spouse or parent. They might have children at home and by killing them for food, their children are left without a parent, or perhaps both. But if I didn’t, I would start starving. And when that happens, I won’t care who it is and I’ll kill just to be rid of the hunger.” he paused with a sigh and Kaneki had to note that he suddenly looked a lot more tired.  
  
“I know from experience that what Ghouls do to survive isn’t exactly right, but it is survival. The majority of us don’t want to kill at all, ever. But if we didn’t we’d be a danger to everyone around us. And that is why, regardless of if we want to, we do so. Though with time and effort, we also turn to scavenging, tracking down and finding the bodies of suicide victims or body dumps from murders, harvesting those instead of having to kill someone ourselves. There’s an entire secret society of us dedicated to doing just that, in fact. That is where I get my family’s food, I don’t kill for it. Often times they’re already dead, and if they aren’t then they’re so far gone that they wouldn’t survive anyway.” Kaneki kept silent for a while after Misaki-san stopped speaking, looking back down at the surface of his coffee, only looking up again after the other set something wrapped up in brown paper beside him. “Eat before you leave, at least. Alright? I don’t want to hear of you getting captured on your way home because your hunger got too much.” he looked down at the little parcel beside him and paled in the face. “But I-'' he stopped as Misaki-san put a hand on his head and very lightly ruffled his hair.  
  
“I know, Kaneki-kun. It’s hard. It’s hard for a lot of us born Ghouls as well. But it’ll _be alright_ . Okay?” he asked, smiling when Kaneki looked up at him. Slowly, the younger boy nodded lightly, setting his mug to the side and picking up the package with shaking hands. He slowly unwrapped it and practically choked as the sudden scent caused his left eye to turn into the main identifying mark of a Ghoul. It didn’t… It still didn’t smell _bad_ though… And that’s what he hated the most as he stared down at the lump of flesh and fought the urge to throw it across the room and run.  
  
With hands that were now shaking a great deal more, Kaneki picked it up and raised it to his mouth; hesitating a moment longer before biting into it and immediately gagging behind closed lips as his mental state fought against what his body desperately craved. He was tense all over, Misaki-san having to help him set the rest down and to the side so it didn’t get onto the floor. When he tried chewing, he gagged again; tears springing to his eyes because of it. But almost at once, the older male moved closer and gently put a hand against his back, rubbing soft circles.  
  
Kaneki dimly remembered waking much earlier to the sound of children’s voices, and could remember Misaki-san’s husband having to leave the dining room to go check on someone at a scream from the previous night… So it was likely just a reflex from having kids that he was trying to comfort him. … Kaneki couldn’t deny that it helped. Even if it was only a little. At least he was able to finish chewing and finally swallow after several more gags and a painful held back cough. Why had it been easier the previous night? Perhaps it was just because he’d started starving at that point? He didn’t know and found he didn’t want to know as he pushed the memory once more to the back of his mind.  
  
“Bit better?” Misaki-san asked softly after a moment of silence passed. He got a nod, moving away the unfinished flesh before Kaneki could pick it up again. “I’m going to try something, alright?” he asked, Kaneki giving him a confused look, but he nodded nonetheless and focused on looking more around the kitchen while the other… Got out a blender?? He didn’t want to know and kept his gaze away from Misaki-san until he felt the pressing of a glass into his hands, barely having registered the sounds of the blender and faucet going.  
  
He looked down and scrunched his nose slightly in faint disgust at the dull muddy pink color of… What was clearly blended up flesh with coffee. “Ghouls do it for infants and such.” Misaki-san said, taking up his previous place on the counter. “It’s… Easier to handle, sometimes.” he admitted. “You’ve done it for yourself?” Kaneki couldn’t help but ask, looking over to see him smile with a soft chuckle. “I have. Mostly late at night.” he didn’t explain why, late at night, and Kaneki didn’t ask as he raised the glass to his lips and started drinking.  
  
Misaki-san added enough coffee that it masked the taste underneath enough to where he didn’t gag while swallowing. He counted that as a blessing, though was a bit horrified at himself for _not_ being upset when he had finally finished it. He did not ask for more as he set it to the side and proceeded to finish the mug of plain pure coffee he’d been given. The entire time the two sat in silence, though… Kaneki found that it was… Comfortable. Like sitting with a family member after a conversation ended.  
  
“Thank you, again, for letting me stay.” he said as he stood up, setting the dishes in the sink out of politeness. “But I… Should really be getting home.” he told the other, getting an understanding smile and nod in response as Misaki-san sipped his coffee.  
  
“Of course. Here,” he got off the counter and walked to the fridge, pulling a pen off the top and scribbling down a couple of numbers and names on the magnetic notepad that was on the freezer part. He pulled off the top slip once done and handed it to Kaneki. “The address here, me and Kuro’s numbers and names, and directions on how to get back to the alley you were at when we met. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.” he told him, and honestly Kaneki thought it was a bit much.  
  
But something in Misaki-san’s expression told him that the other wished he could somehow do more. As if he wished he could somehow ease his pain or reverse what had happened. Kaneki nodded, said a final farewell after pocketing the paper, and left without another word. Why someone who _didn’t know him_ and certainly _had his own issues and life to deal with_ would want to help him… _Just… Just_ **_because_ ** , was hard for Kaneki to understand at that moment.  
  
He followed the directions easily enough, and from there was able to return home, collapsing onto his bed and checking his phone. Ten texts and five missed calls… He put his phone back into sleep mode after setting an alarm, proceeding to curl up under his own blankets and bury his face into his own pillow. He’d deal with those later. For now it was nice to be home and he really hoped that he didn’t have to take up Misaki-san on his offer of help any time in the near future as he once more fell into blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is now up, but I will definitely accept constructive criticism and/or tips on how to improve my writing.
> 
> Kuro does belong to a friend of mine, she actually gets special access to all of this thing before I post any of it and is a-okay with how I've written her character thus far so don't worry about any of that.  
> Lykaon is mine and is very much a dad but he has issues of his own that I'll get into more a bit later. Maybe.  
> Who knows, might end up writing some side stories or something


	3. Chapter 2: Help Arrives!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The slight chatfic element appears, as does another of my friend's ocs, Sakura!
> 
> If some of this looks odd, it might look better on a phone screen instead!
> 
> Edit 1/13/21:  
> Heya, I'm not dead or abandoning this fic! Just having a bit of writer's block for it and having issues in being unable to reliably watch the anime due to the gore and being unable to get the manga rn. But yeah! I'm not abandoning it!! Far from it, I've got so many ideas and stuff so yeeee

The insistent buzzing of his phone ringing on vibrate mode awoke Kaneki from his sleep, light from a nearly full moon filtering through his curtains to shine on his face and illuminate part of the room. He reached over to the end table and picked his phone up, seeing that Hide was calling him. Part of him wanted to ignore it, pretend that he slept through it… But he’d already been out of contact too long and the guilt at knowing how worried the other must be suddenly reared up to eat away at him.  
  
With a soft sigh and a small bit of reluctance, Kaneki answered the phone. “Hide… It’s two in the morning…” he mumbled out before the other could speak, sounding as tired as he felt. “Why are you calling me so late…?” he finished in a mutter of questioning, letting out a yawn. “ _You haven’t answered any of my previous calls or texts! I have a perfectly good reason to worry and call at this ungodly hour! Just be glad you answered or I would’ve come over and busted in your door!_ ” despite his slight annoyance, Kaneki found himself smiling slightly and sinking into the warmth of knowledge that his best friend cared so much for his well being. It was comforting, a normalcy in a sea of what was currently unknown territory.  
  
“Nice to know you care… But I’m fine… You’ll be seeing me tomorrow at campus, I don’t see why you’re losing sleep now, of all hours…” he answered him after the male on the other end had been silent for a moment or so, letting out a yawn. “ _I know, I know… You’ve just seemed bummed out ever since your date._ ” Kaneki did not appreciate that reminder, but pushed the rising memories back down. “ _Did you get the little care package I left on your door and enjoy it, at least?_ ” the question sent him down a brief road of panic. He couldn’t just say he didn’t, Hide had made a point of getting one of his favorites… Plus Hide couldn’t find out about… Well, anything… Not if he wanted to live. “I did, yeah… Thank you Hide…” Kaneki murmured out softly, hoping he succeeded in making his voice sound more tired than he now actually felt.  
  
It seemed to work, because he could hear the other’s smile when he spoke again. “ _That’s great! I’m glad you’re eating again! I knew it was probably just the hospital’s crappy ass food that was getting to you!_ ” oh how Kaneki wished he was right… The tears threatening to appear were blinked away long before they appeared. “ _Anyway! I’ll let you go now, Kaneki! Get some more sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow!_ ” the line went dead after quick good-nights and Kaneki made sure the call was properly disconnected, taking the slip of paper out of his pocket from earlier in the day. He put in the numbers before texting both, letting Misaki-san and his husband know that the number that texted them was Kaneki’s.  
  
  
**Chat between you and two others** :  
  
**You** : This is Kaneki Ken’s number, just letting you know so you have it saved. (2:13am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : That’s fine, Kaneki-kun, no worries. Why are you awake so late? (2:13am)  
  
  
Kaneki let out a soft snort. Misaki-san was definitely a dad. Already worrying about him like one. Not that it wasn’t appreciated, of course. Just a bit strange coming from who was mostly a stranger.  
  
  
**You** : Friend called, phone’s buzzing woke me up. What about you? It’s late, I thought you’d be asleep. (2:14am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : Insomnia’s a bitch. (2:14am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : Lykaon I swear to fucking god if you stopped drinking coffee at midnight, you wouldn’t have fucking insomnia. (2:14am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : Bold of you to assume I do that. And you messaged a group chat, love, not just me. (2:15am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : … I blame you entirely for this. (2:15am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : I wouldn’t expect anything less. <3 (2:15am)  
  
  
Kaneki found himself laughing softly at the two’s little banter, finding it amusing that the two didn’t think to move their conversation to their own messages. Though, it was late… They might’ve spaced it.  
  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : So, Kaneki-kun, are you alright? You’re free to stop by if you ever need to for whatever reason. (2:17am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : You should stop by sometime! It’d certainly ease our concerned-parent mindsets to see you physically okay. (2:17am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : Lykaon we’ve been over this. You can’t just try and pressure people into doing something to ease your paranoia. (2:18am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : Says the person who was saved by my paranoia on making sure you were okay. (2:18am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : That is entirely besides the point. (2:18am)  
  
**You** : You two are aware you’re still talking where I can read the messages, right? (2:19am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : How do you know we aren’t doing this intentionally so that you’ll be comfortable coming over or calling to talk if need be? (2:19am)  
  
  
Kaneki blinked in bewilderment at the text on the screen. If that was true then… It meant that the two really did care about his well being…. But why? They didn’t even know him outside of his name and him being a Ghoul… Was that just how their secret society worked? Offering help to all those who needed it?  
  
He got flashes of memories from yesterday night and had a feeling that it might just be how the two were, not a reflection of all of them. He snapped out of his thoughts as his phone pinged again.  
  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : Lykaon I swear to fucking god if you don’t stop this you will be sleeping on the couch the rest of the night. (2:20am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : :( (2:20am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : Your frowny face emojis have no power over me. (2:20am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : :’( (2:20am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : … Say goodnight and get the fuck back to bed. (2:21am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : :D (2:21am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro)** : Hurry up before I change my mind. Goodnight, Kaneki-kun. (2:21am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon)** : >:O How dare- Goodnight, Kaneki-kun! Do not copy me and stay up the rest of the night! You will be tired in the morning! (2:22am)  
  
  
Kaneki laughed softly to himself at the entire exchange, finding it nice that the two were comfortable enough to mock-bicker where someone else could see it. It eased some of the worry that he’d be some sort of burden.  
  
  
**You** : Goodnight, Misaki-san(s). I will try not to. (2:23am)  
  
  
The remaining hints of any smile he might have had vanished from his face as he put his phone back onto his nightstand, proceeding to roll over and stare at the wall until his eyelids grew too heavy to keep open and he closed them. He’d later be eternally grateful that he’d set up that group chat tonight.  
  
He wasn’t sure if he actually fell asleep or if he was merely laying there in silence, all he knew is that when his alarm went off at five, he rolled and turned it off with a soft sigh. For a moment he considered going back to sleep, but the thought of Hide coming over and busting through the door made him wince and he forced himself to stand and get ready for the day.  
  
He was pulling a simple black t-shirt on when his phone pinged once, but for the moment he ignored it and continued on to grab a light jacket. It pinged again, but once more Kaneki ignored it for the moment in favor of finding his other shoe, which somehow ended up under his bed. His phone pinged four more times in the course of grabbing it and then putting both on. With an annoyed huff, he grabbed it and opened his messages.  
  
  
**Not so Subtly Trying to be your Family :D <3:** **  
** **  
** **Misaki-san (Lykaon) has added Akiyama Taiki and two other people to the group chat!** (6:19am)  
**  
** **Misaki-san (Lykaon) has changed the chat name to Not so Subtly Trying to be your Family :D <3! ** (6:20am) **  
** **  
** **Misaki-san (Kuro):** Lykaon I SWEAR TO GOD. WHAT DID WE TALK ABOUT!? (6:20am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon):** To not force Kaneki-kun into coming over for help. (6:21am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro):** AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? (6:21am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon):** … Trying to hint at the fact that we’re only here to help him and that he should come over… (6:22am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro):** EXACTLY. STOP IT. (6:22am)  
  
  
Kaneki couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face at the two, it was sweet to see them acting… Well… Like any other married couple he’d seen who were happy together. It was almost ridiculously easy to forget that the two were ghouls like hi- He shoved the thought away as his phone pinged in his hand, standing to grab his bag in order to leave the apartment.  
**  
** **  
** **Akiyama Taiki:** Not that I don’t like talking with all of you… But why am I in a group chat with a number I don’t recognize? And why is the chat named this? (6:23am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro):** Lykaon is trying to adopt a ghoul he found in an alleyway yesterday night. Probably thinks you three will help him. (6:24am)  
  
**That One Conspiracy Nut in Every Family:** Not that I’m taking sides... But can this ‘Kaneki-kun’ help me with my take over? (6:24am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon):** Probably! If you get to know him! :D (6:25am)  
  
**That One Conspiracy Nut in Every Family:** HELL YES! KEEP HIM, THEN. (6:25am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro):** LYKAON DON’T ENCOURAGE NAOMI’S CONSPIRACY THEORIES. I REPEAT: DO. NOT. ENCOURAGE. HER. CONSPIRACY. THEORIES. (6:25am)  
  
**Akiyama Taiki:** Lykaon please don’t encourage my twin sister… This will only end in pain and suffering for us… (6:25am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon):** D: (6:26am)  
  
**Arima, Please Don’t Ever do That Again(™):** Why the heck is my phone going off at six in the morning? I’m not meant to be up for another hour to take Ignis to school, you are all ruining my perfectly good sleep. (6:26am)  
  
  
Kaneki laughed even if he was very horribly, horribly confused by the entire situation. He didn’t really mind, even if the names were likely inside jokes among the clear family. It was refreshing to see as he stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the light to turn so he could cross with the rest of the crowd.  
**  
** **  
** **Misaki-san (Kuro):** Lykaon is trying to adopt a ghoul he found yesterday night and is trying to get help in convincing him to come over whenever he needs help. DESPITE my protests that we can’t force him to. (6:27am)  
  
**Arima, Please Don’t Ever do That Again(™):** Ah I see. I’m going to assume that this ghoul is not a small child like Ignis is, and is likely an adult? (6:27am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Kuro):** He looked about 18-19, yes. (6:27am)  
  
  
Kaneki walked across the street as the electrical sign said that he and the rest of the people waiting could, keeping a tight grip on his phone as he did so. Which he looked down at when he stopped at the end of the street to wait for Hide to show up, knowing he’d likely come down this way instead so they could walk to campus together… And so that if Kaneki wasn’t there he could go and get him, not that he had to worry about that part of course. But it sounded like something Hide would do if he tried to skip school today.  
  
  
**Akiyama Taiki:** Lykaon, you can’t adopt people over the age of 17. (6:28am) **  
** **  
** **Arima, Please Don’t Ever do That Again(™):** You can’t exactly force anyone over the age of fifteen to do anything they don’t really want to do. You have children, Lykaon. You know how to parent. (6:28am) **  
** **  
** **That One Conspiracy Nut in Every Family:** Even I know you Can’tDoThat(™) AND I DON’T HAVE CHILDREN. (6:28am)  
  
**Misaki-san (Lykaon):** I know I can’t... But is it really that bad when he reminds me a bit of myself when I was his age? I don’t want something to happen and he ends up going down a similar path to myself… Not everyone will come back from that. Hell, not even I really ever did. I got better, yes, but I know for a fact that my family adjusting to my change of attitude from when I was younger was difficult for them. (6:30am)  
  
  
He blinked down at his phone’s screen, brow furrowing in slight confusion. He reminded Misaki-san of himself? How was that possible? They looked nothing alike. Though he could mean by what he was going through? What path could he possibly go down that’d make the man worry about not being able to go back from it?  
  
He heard Hide’s running footsteps before he saw him, quickly muting the little group chat in order to not have his phone go off and pocketing the device. Just as an arm slung around his shoulders and he was pulled into a side hug. “Kaneki! So glad I didn’t have to run to your place and drag your ass out of there!” he said with a grin and Kaneki couldn’t help but grin along with him, easily keeping stride with the blonde as they started walking. He said nothing on the other keeping his arm around his shoulders, as though if he didn’t Kaneki would vanish from view. Hide also didn’t need to know that Kaneki liked the contact after starving himself of physical affection since he woke up in the hospital unable to eat normal foods.  
  
Getting to the school’s campus and the following several hours were surprisingly normal, comfortingly so, and outside of having to give his teachers each a doctor’s note on why he missed nearly a week’s worth of school, the day was normal. A few others he knew from group projects expressed concern for him, but he brushed it off and assured them he was fine. It probably would’ve been nice if any of them were more than just acquaintances. At least no one was swarming him and demanding to know every detail of what happened. He probably would’ve had a panic attack with all the sudden attention and different scents. So the day ended up much more comforting than he’d ever expected, though Kaneki didn’t really think of anything to come from Hide’s conversations with a few others about the school’s upcoming festival plans. Up until he agreed to go with him to get some sort of file of the previous years’ festivals from who had it all archived.  
  
Their soft chatter as they walked to the archiver’s current place of residence was nice, normal, it eased Kaneki’s fears that Hide could tell that something was majorly different about him. Hopefully he just thought that the aftermath of the date with Rize and the incident that landed him in the hospital is what got him so depressed. Either way, he asked no questions and Kaneki was thankful for that. He honestly wasn’t sure how he’d respond to being asked anything right then or in the near future.  
  
Kaneki hung back a bit and let Hide do the talking when they arrived at the destination, faintly frowning at the beginnings of hunger starting to gnaw at him. How annoying... Then again he hadn’t eaten anything after yesterday afternoon, maybe it was normal? Either that or his body wasn’t entirely adjusted... “-ou’re friend?” he snapped out of his thoughts, blinking a couple of times as a familiar scent overtook him. He felt frozen when he saw who Hide ended up needing to go see for the archives.  
  
Of all the people, it was a ghoul. And the same ghoul from the other night who’d almost strangled him to death. “This is just Kaneki, he may or may not be helping me set everything up and offered to join me in getting what I needed,” he tuned out the rest of their conversation, barely registered that he didn’t seem to be recognized and only really accompanying Hide to wherever the other needed to go due to wanting to try and protect him. He didn’t trust this guy at all, staying a pace or two behind his friend as they walked, pulling his phone out after they stopped for something to eat at a stand, though Kaneki politely declined, feeling too concerned with what might happen to even try to pretend to eat. The worried look Hide had given him made him feel guilty and he hated it.  
  
Unlocking his phone showed fifteen unread messages, though Kaneki was thankful it wasn’t more than that. He opened the app and started to catch up with what he missed.  
  
  
**Not so Subtly Trying to be your Family :D <3:** **  
** **  
** **Misaki-san(Kuro):** Oh honey, I get that. Really I do. But you have to give him space. (6:31am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** If I give him too much space he might end up just like I did, chasing after a power level so high the CCG won’t mess with him or anyone he cares about out of fear. It only ends in pain and suffering and I don’t want that to happen to him... (6:35am)  
  
**Akiyama Taiki added Akiyama Sakura to the chat!** (7:30am)  
  
**Akiyama Taiki:** Sorry, Saku woke up and demanded to see why I was awake at the ungodly hour of 6am instead of purely cuddling with her. So I added her after she spent forever reading the chat. (7:32am)  
  
**Akiyama Sakura:** First off, it’s very nice to meet this Kaneki-kun you have all spoken about. Secondly, Lykaon we all understand why you’re doing this, but you can’t force anyone to accept your help. (7:33am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon) changed Akiyama Sakura’s name to Pink Petal Girl!** (8:01am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon) changed Akiyama Taiki’s name to Burned Sugar Boy!** (8:01am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** Before you ask me: Sakura because, well, sakura petals, and Taiki because you once told me every non-flesh thing tasted a bit burned and you liked sweets so much because you liked the slightly burned taste of them. (8:03am)  
  
**Pink Petal Girl:** I... I mean you’re not wrong... (8:03am)  
  
**Burned Sugar Boy:** I swear to god you do this just to annoy us... (8:04am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** No I don't! It’s how I remember you all when I can’t remember your names! (8:05am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Kuro):** His contacts list is very strange to read. (8:05am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** Kuro! D:< (8:05am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Kuro):** It is. Taiki and I’s father is literally under the name ‘The Better Father-In-Law’ and our mother is under ‘The Sweetest Older Mother-In-Law I’ve Ever Had.’ it’s like riding a roller coaster. (8:06am)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** ... It’s... It’s just how I remember people D’: (8:06am)  
  
  
He frowned slightly and quickly typed up a message after glancing up at who he was with. He really didn’t like that the other ghoul was leading them through a neighborhood so late that the sun was starting to set.  
  
  
**You:** Do any of you know a ghoul by the name of Nishio Nishiki? (6:21pm)  
  
  
Kaneki looked up when they all stopped at a crosswalk, smiling faintly at the joke Hide was trying to get the other to laugh at. Not that he succeeded to get more than a sympathetic chuckle. He looked down when his phone’s screen changed slight colors as a message popped up.  
  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** That’s who was in the alley the other night, if I remember correctly. Why? You run into him again? (6:23pm)  
  
**You:** Yeah, kind of. He’s got an archive of the past festivals my school has done, my friend Hide wanted those so he didn’t accidentally repeat one of the previous year’s themes. Supposedly he left them somewhere so we’re going to go get them. Should I be worried? (6:24pm)  
  
**Misaki-san(Lykaon):** Absolutely you should be, what’s your location? If any of us are close we can head in your direction and provide back up if he attacks you for whatever reason. Your friend a ghoul or human? (6:25pm)  
  
  
Kaneki looked up, hiding his phone quickly as they stopped and headed towards an alley. He frowned as Nishio said something about a back entrance, pausing for just a moment to pretend to redo his shoelace, opening the group chat and quickly sending off his location and the alleyway they'd be in before pocketing the device and standing again.  
  
He forced a smile when Hide led him after Nishio, glad that he didn’t appear tense. That’d be suspicious, not to mention odd. Considering Nishio didn’t seem to recognize him. ‘Seem to’ being the key words, for once they were far enough into the alleyway Nishio knocked Hide out and tossed him aside like trash. Kaneki did not want to admit to a dull ringing making itself known in his ears, but he had enough sense to dodge to the side of whatever it was the other was using to attack him with. What were they called again? He didn’t remember right then and quite frankly didn’t care as he tried to make sense of the other’s monologuing.  
  
How dare he think that Kaneki would be using or planning on using Hide as a convenient last resort food source or keeping him around merely because he was food. He knew nothing of their relationship and had no right to suggest that Kaneki was anything like him at all! He yelped, suddenly realizing he must’ve said that aloud with the sudden spike of anger around the two of them. Kaneki tried scrambling out of the way of another attack -when the fuck did he fall?!- and only barely managed to just have his shoulder grazed. It still hurt like someone had slashed him with a knife, and reaching up to instinctively put pressure on it made his hand feel a bit warm and sticky so it was bleeding.  
  
His back hit the alley’s wall and he flinched, closing his eyes as he waited for another hit.  
One that never came.  
It took a moment, but Kaneki cracked open his eyes, only to widen them at the sheer horror of the scene now in front of him.  
  
A pink haired woman, looking probably somewhere about 27, was going nearly toe-to-toe with Nishio with some sort of violet-indigo colored.... It looked like it was a sword, but whatever it was made of looked like what Rize had- Kaneki closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears, tilting his head down. He couldn’t think about that right now, not ever again, his life and the woman’s was potentially in danger and he was completely-  
  
“Sakura!” the shout had worry and anger in it and snapped Kaneki out of the spiral he would’ve otherwise gone into, looking up in confusion at who the voice belonged to. Whatever he expected was not a tan-light brown skinned male with light hazel eyes of green-blue-brown and hair that appeared black, but was more of a rust brown depending on how the light hit it. He mostly didn’t expect it because the guy looked similar to Kuro, just... Somehow more fragile looking, as though a hit more than a slap would break his skin and make him bleed.  
  
He didn’t look at all intimidating at first glance, honestly. But the feral and protective look in his eyes, not to mention the pure and unfiltered rage, was terrifying as the guy picked up a broken off piece of pipe, working with the woman in order to get in close to Nishio and whack the pipe across the back of his skull. To say that Kaneki was afraid of the man who knocked out a dangerous ghoul with nothing but a pipe was an understatement. _He was bloody fucking terrified._  
  
Though once he calmed down from that fear, he noticed him looking over the woman in complete and total concern, a shallow cut on his own cheek and a few cuts visible in the jacket he was wearing. Upon being apparently reassured that the woman was okay, he turned and took a step toward Kaneki. Who couldn’t help the flinch and tensing of his limbs, he did not want to be on the guy’s bad side. Though his mental state right then was to automatically assume he was. He was very appreciative of the fact that he stopped trying to advance and looked back at the woman, possibly for guidance on what to do next.  
  
Whatever was in her gaze made the male turn back to him. “Don’t worry, Kaneki-kun. You know us.” Kaneki stood immediately, looking at them in fear and questioning. He didn’t recognize them so how the hell would he know them?! The male held up his hands in surrender as the woman moved to check on Hide. Or hurt him. “Don’t touch him!” Kaneki moved with a speed he didn’t know he was even capable of in order to stand between his friend and the woman, a dull ache sprouting from his lower back but he ignored it. “Easy, Kaneki-kun, easy.” the male told him, moving slowly and carefully, hands still up in surrender even as Kaneki felt a growl rise up in his throat. Adrenaline made him completely forget about the cut on his shoulder.  
  
The two opposite him glanced at one another before stepping back. It made Kaneki relax just slightly. “You know us from Lykaon and Kuro. I’m Taiki and this is my _pregnant_ wife Sakura.” the male, Taiki, told him, taking another step back. Kaneki, however, was silent in response as Taiki glared at his wife, who merely shrugged and smiled innocently at him. Whatever she had been using before was now put away and she, miraculously, didn’t have a scratch on her. “How do I know you’re not lying?” Kaneki asked, to which he watched Sakura take out her phone and send a message, seconds later both his and Taiki’s phone’s buzzed from their places in their respective jacket pockets.  
  
He let himself relax, letting them move to check on Hide. God if he got hurt because Kaneki couldn’t defend himself or the other he’d never forgive himself. “He’s fine, just unconscious.” Sakura said after a moment. “We can bring him back to our place, or we can bring him to a hospital just to be sure of his condition?” Sakura spoke up, Kaneki wasn’t sure if he trusted the two enough to take Hide to their house, but he didn’t have an excuse to explain to the hospital staff on why he’d go there. “Or we can take him some place else and wait for him to wake up. I just can’t tell if he has a concussion or not.” Sakura said after the moment of silence passed.  
  
“Ah... The hospital would probably be best, then... I can...” he hissed, the adrenaline fading away and he was suddenly aware of the cut on his shoulder. “We can just say that someone tried to mug you two and we helped you two fight him off, but not before your friend got hit over the head with something we couldn’t identify.” Taiki spoke up, stepping closer and putting a hand on his, thankfully uninjured, shoulder. “You’ll heal as soon as you eat.” he added after a second’s pause. “How do you know…?” Kaneki half hissed out, pain making itself known in his voice. He watched as Taiki blinked slowly once, keeping them closed a second longer with the second blink and when he opened him one of his eyes was red with black sclera. “O-oh…” Kaneki mumbled, looking down. For what else could he respond with?  
  
“I’m Kuro’s younger brother.” he explained, to which Kaneki nodded. “Now come on, we gotta get your friend somewhere safer, right?” he asked, to which Kaneki, again, nodded, finally looking up and watching as Taiki walked over to Hide and effortlessly lifted him up in a bridal carry. Kaneki must’ve shown some sort of surprise, because Sakura spoke up. “He looks completely non-threatening, but he could likely break someone in half over his leg like a stick.” Kaneki paled in the face and Sakura just giggled. “He’s far too sweet to actually do so, though. Like a puppy!” he just nodded, not knowing how to respond to that.  
  
“Come on. There’s a nearby clinic of sorts and we know the doctor there personally.” Taiki said as he started walking, Sakura following after a moment and Kaneki following after her, worriedly pulling at a loose thread on his shirt. “They won’t ask too many questions.” he added, looking over with a smile. Kaneki studied his face a moment before nodding, jogging to walk beside Taiki. Despite the secure feeling he had, he didn’t completely trust that his best friend would be safe.


End file.
